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Virtual reality (VR) lab experiences for organic chemistry were developed at NC State University as an accessibility tool for students who are unable to attend in-person laboratories due to disabilities, attendance challenges such as pregnancy or military deployment, or safety concerns. The resulting first-person VR experiences are immersive and realistic, with a virtual teaching assistant guiding the user along the steps required to complete the experiment, including feedback as needed. During the COVID pandemic, these laboratories replaced traditional face-to-face laboratories at NC State and several other universities. During the summer of 2020, we used the Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) to measure both the cognitive and affective dimensions of students' expectations of the virtual lab before the course and their experiences with virtual reality after completing the course. Students who completed virtual reality laboratories reported more positive affective experiences than they anticipated, including little frustration or confusion in the laboratory.

The Reaction Coordinate Diagram Inventory (RCDI) was developed to measure chemistry students' thinking and confidence when interpreting the kinetic and thermodynamic information encoded within reaction coordinate diagrams (RCDs). The RCDI was designed based upon analyses of qualitative data collected in semi-structured interviews with general chemistry students or organic chemistry students to ensure all items and distractors were grounded in students' ideas and reasoning. A longitudinal, multi-institution research study was conducted using the RCDI to measure changes in undergraduate chemistry students' reasoning with RCDs, and their confidence in doing so, at three points in time: (1) end of second-semester general chemistry, (2) beginning of first-semester organic chemistry, and (3) end of first-semester organic chemistry. The three institutions participating in this longitudinal study taught organic chemistry using either a traditional functional group curriculum or a mechanisms approach. Findings include evidence that individual students performed significantly better with significantly higher confidence as they progressed through courses, but that some RCD misconceptions, such as incorrectly assuming reaction progress indicates a time unit, are persistent throughout. Although two of the institutions taught organic chemistry using a mechanisms curriculum and one institution used the traditional functional group approach, no evidence exists of significant differences among students' RCDI total score and average confidence across institutions.

In response to the Coronavirus-19 pandemic, higher education institutions quickly moved to emergency remote learning, and most human subjects research came to an immediate halt. Chemistry education researchers who wanted to continue data collection were confronted by many challenges, including research designs and data collection methods that had presumed local access to student participants, such as interactive tasks for students to complete during face-to-face interviews. In order to resume data collection remotely, interactive tasks needed to be translated to a virtual space. This communication reports adaptations made to an interview protocol to facilitate data collection in a remote setting with students as they interacted with and annotated multiple representations of chemical structures. The benefits and limitations to remotely capturing students' drawings and interactions with multiple chemistry representations using the features available through a common video conferencing platform are discussed.

The Reaction Coordinate Diagram Inventory (RCDI) has been developed to measure student thinking and confidence with reaction coordinate diagrams (RCDs) and their correspondence to reaction mechanisms. The RCDI was designed using a sequential mixed-methods protocol, such that the questions and distractors in the instrument were generated based on an analysis of qualitative semi-structured interviews in which general chemistry and organic chemistry students were asked to describe the concepts embedded in the surface features of RCDs and to use the mechanistic information encoded in RCDs. The RCDI was administered to second-semester general chemistry students (n = 443), second-semester organic chemistry students (n = 227), and second-semester physical/biophysical chemistry students (n = 45). Descriptive statistics and item function are presented for each of the three samples. Qualitative and quantitative evidence for the validity and reliability of the data generated by the RCDI are also presented. Major categories of misconceptions assessed by the RCDI and data demonstrating the prevalence of these misconceptions for all three groups of students are presented.

The Enthalpy and Entropy in Dissolution and Precipitation Inventory (E2DPI) has been developed to measure student understanding of the dissolution of ionic solutes, aqueous precipitation reactions, and the enthalpy and entropy changes that accompany these processes. The E[subscript 2]DPI was designed using a mixed-methods protocol, such that the questions on the instrument were grounded in the reasoning and explanations offered during the semi-structured interviews with general chemistry and physical chemistry students. The concept inventory was administered to general chemistry (n = 383), physical chemistry (n = 10), and biophysical chemistry students (n = 43) at one institution. The inventory was also administered at a second institution to students in a postorganic General Chemistry II course (n = 160). The validity and reliability of the data generated from the E[subscript 2]DPI were assessed using both qualitative and quantitative data. Some of the misconceptions assessed by the instrument and data indicating the prevalence of these ideas are presented.

This article describes the development of the Quantization and Probability Representations Inventory (QuPRI) as a measure of student understanding of the electron structure of the atom. The QuPRI was created using a mixed-method sequential design such that the items and distractors were generated on the basis of the analysis of semi-structured interviews in which students were asked to interpret multiple representations of the electron structure of hydrogen, helium, and carbon atoms. The QuPRI was administered to first-semester general chemistry students (N = 655) and physical chemistry/biophysical chemistry students (N = 38). Descriptive statistics and item function are presented for each sample, including evidence for the reliability and validity of the data generated by the QuPRI. Students' confidence in their responses and reasoning about the electron structure of atoms is discussed.

Learning thermodynamics requires understanding abstract topics such as entropy and spontaneity. Students tend to rely on metaphors and everyday meanings to reason about these topics. This study investigates how students explain dissolution and precipitation using the concepts of entropy and spontaneity. Students from general chemistry, physical chemistry, and biophysical chemistry participated in semistructured interviews. During these interviews, students observed four tasks: an exothermic dissolving process, an endothermic dissolving process, the insolubility of an ionic salt, and a precipitation reaction. Students reasoned about their observations of dissolving, insolubility, and precipitation by describing entropy as the disorder of a chemical system and describing disorder in several different ways. Few students mentioned microstates or the distribution of energy. Students determined which of the four tasks were spontaneous and offered explanations that included reasoning about changes in enthalpy, reasoning about changes in entropy, and/or using concepts from kinetics. Students' ideas about entropy changes and spontaneity are examined, and the implications for classroom teaching and future research are discussed.

The ACS Guidelines for bachelor's degrees in chemistry call for the curriculum to include polymer chemistry principles and the synthesis of different classes of macromolecules. Organic chemistry can provide an important introduction to polymer chemistry principles, and photochemically induced radical polymerization is one method for generating polymers that is well suited to be explored in this course. The development and implementation of an experiment for undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory in which students explore both photochemistry and radical chemistry by synthesizing cross-linked polymers via photopolymerization is reported. An inquiry design is used to introduce polymerization reactions, and students learn about air-sensitive lab techniques. Students must pool their data to explain how molecular structure affects the physical properties of a macroscopic material.

The purpose of this study was to analyze organic chemistry students' annotations of reaction coordinate diagrams to better understand how they sought connections between reactions and reaction coordinate diagrams. Thirty-six students enrolled in Organic Chemistry II participated in semistructured, think-aloud interviews that asked students to choose a reaction coordinate diagram from a set of three possible diagrams to match a substitution reaction mechanism and then to match an elimination reaction mechanism. Students' annotations of the reaction coordinate diagrams provided in the interviews, and in some cases additional reaction coordinate diagrams generated by the students themselves, were examined. Qualitative analyses indicated that half of the participants considered only the "major" species (reactant, intermediate, and product) to be encoded in reaction coordinate diagrams, whereas the rest of the reaction species (leaving groups, nucleophiles/bases, and solvent molecules) were omitted from their drawings. These findings suggest that because organic chemists frequently write equations that are balanced neither in mass nor in charge, and because these equations tend to focus upon the formation of the major product, students can develop the idea that only the "major" chemical species are important to focus upon when interpreting the symbolic representations of reactions and reaction coordinate diagrams. The implications of these findings for classroom teaching are discussed.

Thirty-six students enrolled in Organic Chemistry II participated in individual, semistructured, think-aloud interviews about the factors that contribute to the stability and reactivity of organic species in the context of unimolecular and bimolecular nucleophilic substitution and elimination reactions. The students were provided with the mechanistic steps for these reactions. Most students correctly identified the leaving groups in these reactions and referred to them as "good leaving groups". However, less than half of the students could explain the electronic and structural factors that justify characterizing a species as a "good" leaving group. Nearly one-third of the students who were interviewed were unable to provide any explanation of what factors result in a chemical species being a "good" leaving group. These findings are discussed through the lenses of both Perry's scheme of intellectual development and Ausubel and Novak's theory of meaningful learning.

Multifunctional chemical analysis (MCA) systems provide a viable alternative for large scale instruction while supporting a hands-on approach to more advanced instrumentation. These systems are robust and typically use student stations connected to a remote central computer for data collection, minimizing the need for computers at every student workspace. MCA networks offer multiple measurement capabilities; however, constant-current coulometry is still an uncommon MCA option. The characterization of an assembled teaching coulometry instrument for online data acquisition using an MCA system is described. A constant-current source connected to nonisolated Pt electrodes in a 150 mL beaker serving as the reaction cell caused the iodine titrant to be electrochemically generated for subsequent reaction with the analyte reducing agent. A photoresistor mounted on the stir plate below the beaker monitored the darkening of the solution due to formation of the starch-iodine complex. The change in voltage from an operational amplifier circuit permitted this titration curve to be stored by the MCA system for subsequent graphical analysis by Excel. Characterization of the instrument for direct analyte determination is performed with ascorbic acid, thiols, thiosulfate, and bisulfite. The number of electrons per mole of thiol for iodine titration of glutathione and N-acetylcysteine varied differently as a function of pH, indicating different reaction pathways. Ascorbic acid and the thiols are determined in dietary supplements with a recovery of 90-100%, and % RSDs of triplicate measurements ranged from 0.7% to 5%.

This study investigates how students account for a macroscopic temperature change during the dissolution of ionic salts through particulate level explanations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with general chemistry, physical chemistry, and biophysical chemistry students. During the interviews, students conducted hands-on tasks that included the touching of beakers containing exothermic or endothermic dissolution processes. Data analysis resulted in categorizing students into groups based on their ideas about bond breaking, bond making, and energy changes. Students' particulate understandings of the dissolving process did not appear to impact their explanations of the energy changes they observed. Only two students (one from general chemistry and one from biophysical chemistry) correctly described both the dissolving process and the macroscopic energy changes. No students invoked the concepts of potential energy, lattice energy, or enthalpy of hydration to explain their observations.

This study reports the development of a 19-item Flame Test Concept Inventory, an assessment tool to measure students' understanding of atomic emission. Fifty-two students enrolled in secondary and postsecondary chemistry courses were interviewed about atomic emission and explicitly asked to explain flame test demonstrations and energy level diagrams. Analysis of students' explanations offered insight into students' alternative conceptions and was used to design items and distractors for a 19-item Flame Test Concept Inventory about atomic emission. Results from a pilot study with first-year university chemistry and with upper-division chemistry students were analyzed to create a final version of the inventory that was administered to both secondary students (N = 459) and first-year university students (N = 100) who had completed formal instruction and course assessment about atomic emission. Analysis of student responses indicated the inventory generated valid and reliable data. Common alternative conceptions about atomic emission that remain postinstruction and their prevalence are discussed.

A structured inquiry experiment for inorganic synthesis has been developed to introduce undergraduate students to advanced spectroscopic techniques including paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance. Students synthesize multiple complexes with unknown first row transition metals and identify the unknown metals by correlating spectroscopic data to electronic structure. Students are assessed through an oral presentation of their spectral analyses and conclusions. Data are included in Supporting Information for institutions without access to an EPR.

Although stereochemistry is an important topic in second-year undergraduate organic chemistry, there are limited options for laboratory activities that allow direct visualization of macroscopic chiral phenomena. A novel, guided-inquiry experiment was developed that allows students to explore chirality in the context of cholesteric liquid crystals. As part of the experiment, which requires no specialized equipment, students visually distinguish two enantiomers. A chiral imine is synthesized in one step from an assigned (but unknown to students) enantiomer of 1-phenylethylamine and then dissolved in a nematic liquid crystal host, inducing a helical structure. The resulting cholesteric liquid crystalline material selectively reflects circularly polarized light with a handedness that depends on the absolute configuration of the starting amine, easily detected using circularly polarizing filters from disposable 3D glasses. Working in teams, students examine the behavior of both dopant enantiomers and the racemic mixture. Analysis of our students' responses to post-lab questions indicates comprehension of most of the ideas introduced in lab.

Meaningful learning requires the integration of cognitive and affective learning with the psychomotor, i.e., hands-on learning. The undergraduate chemistry laboratory is an ideal place for meaningful learning to occur. However, accurately characterizing students' affective experiences in the chemistry laboratory can be a very difficult task. While attitudinal surveys offer some insights, an inherent limitation of such fixed-response surveys may prevent students from expressing how their laboratory experiences shape their affective learning. Conducting interviews, however, affords researchers the opportunity to hear students describe learning in their own words. One challenge with interviews is that students may not possess the vocabulary to precisely describe their experiences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct interviews that encouraged and enabled students to verbalize their feelings about learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Interviews were conducted with 13 students who were enrolled in either a general chemistry or an organic chemistry laboratory course using a novel interview protocol to elicit descriptions of the students' experiences: a list of affective chemistry laboratory experiences. Findings include that the list of words was able to elicit a wide range of students' descriptions of their affective experiences and that these experiences influence cognitive and psychomotor learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. In particular, the students' descriptions of their affective experiences in the laboratory were grounded in perceptions of control of their learning and the responsibility they felt they had. The implications of this research include identifying experiences that ought to be attended to through changes in pedagogy and curriculum in order for students to experience meaningful learning in their undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses.

Understanding how students learn in the undergraduate chemistry teaching laboratory is an essential component to developing evidence-based laboratory curricula. The Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) was developed to measure students' cognitive and affective expectations and experiences for learning in the chemistry laboratory. Previous cross-sectional studies in both general and organic chemistry laboratory courses have shown trends where cognitive expectations go unfulfilled, and affective expectations and experiences are diverse among all students. On the basis of these previous findings, a longitudinal study was carried out to explore how students' ideas about laboratory learning change over two years of chemistry laboratory instruction. The data were analyzed using multiple visualizations, inferential statistics, and cluster analysis. Findings from this study supported previous findings from the cross-sectional studies. In addition, it was found that students "reset" their expectations for organic chemistry laboratory, meaning they indicated high expectations for learning despite unfulfilled expectations in their general chemistry laboratory. Further findings and their implications are discussed within the context of Novak's theory of meaningful learning.

Research on laboratory learning points to the need to better understand what and how students learn in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. The Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) was administered to general and organic chemistry students from 15 colleges and universities across the United States in order to measure the students' cognitive and affective expectations and experiences within the context of performing experiments in their chemistry laboratory courses. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis. The factor analysis revealed unique mental frameworks for how students think about their laboratory experiences. Exploration of the cluster analysis output indicated a four cluster solution for general chemistry students and a three cluster solution for organic chemistry students. The clusters were further analyzed by examining item pre versus post scatterplots to characterize their unique cognitive and affective expectations and experiences for learning. Both courses had a cluster of students with high cognitive and affective expectations that were fulfilled by their laboratory experiences, as well as a cluster of students who had high cognitive expectations but low affective expectations. This cluster's cognitive expectations went unfulfilled, while their negative affective expectations were fulfilled, and their disparate cognitive and affective perceptions created a hindrance for the necessary integration of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains for meaningful learning.

Research on learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory necessitates an understanding of students' perspectives of learning. Novak's Theory of Meaningful Learning states that the cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling), and psychomotor (doing) domains must be integrated for meaningful learning to occur. The psychomotor domain is the essence of the chemistry laboratory, but the extent to which the cognitive and affective domains are integrated into the laboratory is unknown. For meaningful learning to occur in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory, students must actively integrate both the cognitive domain and the affective domains into the "doing" of their laboratory work. The Meaningful Learning in the Laboratory Instrument (MLLI) was designed to measure students' expectations before and after laboratory courses and experiences, in both the cognitive and affective domains, within the context of conducting experiments in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. The MLLI was pilot-tested and modified based on an analysis of the pilot study data. The revised, 31-item MLLI was administered online both at the beginning and end of a semester to both general and organic chemistry laboratory students. Evidence for both the validity and reliability of the data, as well as comparisons between general and organic chemistry students' responses, are discussed.

Most organic chemistry reactions occur by a mechanism that includes acid-base chemistry, so it is important that students develop and learn to use correct conceptions of acids and acid strength. Recent studies have described undergraduate organic chemistry students' cognitive resources related to the Brønsted-Lowry acid model and the Lewis acid model, providing both qualitative and quantitative analyses of these understandings. To drive changes in pedagogy and curriculum, however, faculty need to be able to quickly assess students' conceptions of acids and acid strength. We recently reported on the development and assessment of a nine-item, multiple-tier, multiple-choice concept inventory about acid strength, named ACID I. Coefficient a for ACID I was calculated to be below 0.70. In this manuscript, we demonstrate that despite this low coefficient "a", the data generated by ACID I are indeed reliable. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to (i) report two significant alternative conceptions about acid strength that persist in organic chemistry students' minds after nearly two semesters, and (ii) discuss the meaning of reliability for concept inventories, including a description of additional measures for the reliability of data collected using ACID I. Two types of test conditions were employed within second-semester organic chemistry courses in two different regions of the United States: a course at a medium-sized, midwestern liberal arts university and a large, southeastern research university.

A variety of fruits and vegetables, including raspberries, blueberries, Concord grapes, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, eggplant, red cabbage, and red onions, contain flavonoid compounds known as anthocyanins that are responsible for the blue-red color and the astringent taste associated with such foods. In addition, anthocyanins exhibit a wide range of chemical properties, such as radical scavenging, metal chelation, pH-dependent color changes, and intramolecular stabilization. Two experiments have been developed for anthocyanin-containing extracts isolated from freeze-dried berries to teach students the skills of solid-liquid extraction, paper chromatography, UV-vis spectroscopic characterization, and detection and evaluation of radical scavenging properties.

This article describes the development of the Redox Concept Inventory (ROXCI) as a measure of students' understandings and confidence of both the symbolic and particulate domains of oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions. The ROXCI was created using a mixed-methods design in which the items were developed based upon themes that emerged from the analysis of semi-structured student interviews. The final version of the ROXCI was administered to first- and second-semester general chemistry students post-instruction and post-assessment on redox chemistry. The results include qualitative and quantitative evidence for the content, response process, and association types validity of the data, as well as individual item function and descriptive statistics for each student sample. In conjunction with the validity evidence, reliability was evaluated via a test-retest study. This included the results of the stability of (i) the total scores and average confidence; (ii) the difficulty and discrimination indices per item; and (iii) the students' multiple-choice responses. In addition to the evidence for validity and reliability, results from the ROXCI regarding students' understandings and confidence about redox concepts are discussed, including students' misconceptions about oxidation numbers, the surface features of chemical equations, electron transfer, the role of the spectator ion, the dynamic reaction process, electrostatic interactions, and bonding. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed.

Teachers use multiple representations to communicate the concepts of bonding, including Lewis structures, formulas, space-filling models, and 3D manipulatives. As students learn to interpret these multiple representations, they may develop misconceptions that can create problems in further learning of chemistry. Interviews were conducted with 28 high school physical science, high school chemistry, and general chemistry students. The interviews focused on identifying student understanding of, and misconceptions about, covalent and ionic bonding representations through analysis of both student-created and expert-generated representations. Misconceptions about bonding representations were identified regarding four themes: (i) periodic trends, (ii) electrostatic interactions, (iii) the octet rule, and (iv) surface features. The Bonding Representations Inventory (BRI) was developed to quantify the prevalence of these misconceptions. The BRI was administered to 1072 high school chemistry, advanced placement chemistry, and general chemistry students across the United States. Content validity was determined through expert validation of the items, and concurrent validity was established by comparing the three groups of students. Reliability was determined through individual item analysis and through Ferguson's d. Suggestions are offered for using the BRI in high school and general chemistry classrooms to inform the teaching of both bonding and representations.

Adequately accommodating students who are blind or low-vision (BLV) in the sciences has been a focus of recent inquiry, but much of the research to date has addressed broad accommodations rather than devising and testing specific teaching strategies that respond to the unique challenges of BLV students learning chemistry. This case study seeks to identify instructional techniques that support or impede the representation of information for BLV students in the context of a typical gas laws unit in a college chemistry course for science majors. Desimone's framework on selection and attention informed the analysis. A blind student participated in five interviews to provide insights on how symbols, equations, and concepts were communicated and interpreted. Findings identified in the analysis of transcripts pertain to three communication modalities of interest: verbal, written, and tactile representations of information to aid learning. Using the results generated for practitioners, the authors generated guidelines for faculty, teaching assistants, and university administrators to improve the teaching and learning chemistry for BLV students.

The large class sizes of first-year chemistry labs makes it challenging to provide students with hands-on access to instrumentation because the number of students typically far exceeds the number of research-grade instruments available to collect data. Multifunctional chemical analysis (MCA) systems provide a viable alternative for large-scale instruction while supporting a hands-on approach to more advanced instrumentation. This study describes how the capabilities of MCA systems are extended to introduce liquid chromatography (LC) and flow injection analysis (FIA) in undergraduate laboratories. A semi-micro plastic cuvette with a Teflon tubing insert is fashioned as the flow cell for a MCA absorbance-fluorescence detector. Two MCA systems, Vernier and MeasureNet, are used in two unique experiments demonstrating the detection of salicylate in aspirin tablets by FIA and the LC separation of a mixture of riboflavin and fluorescein. Both instruments, composed of a syringe pump, T-injection valve, and the MCA detector, operated in the kinetic mode, are rugged and inexpensive permitting student construction, if desired. (Contains 2 tables, 6 figures, and 1 scheme.)

Forty chemistry faculty from American Chemical Society-approved departments were interviewed to determine their goals for undergraduate chemistry laboratory. Faculty were stratified by type of institution, departmental success with regard to National Science Foundation funding for laboratory reform, and level of laboratory course. Interview transcripts that were coded and analyzed using the lens of meaningful learning reveal the importance of cognitive and psychomotor goals relative to affective learning, particularly in organic chemistry and upper-division chemistry laboratory courses. This research reveals that the undergraduate chemistry laboratory offers multiple opportunities for faculty to articulate learning goals across the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Furthermore, these goals are accessible across the undergraduate chemistry curriculum from general chemistry through organic chemistry and into a wide array of upper-division laboratories. In this study, faculty showed a decreasing emphasis on affective goals in organic chemistry and upper-division courses. Whether affective goals should be a part of the organic and upper-division chemistry curriculum remains a question for faculty to discuss. (Contains 2 tables.)

Thermotropic liquid crystal phases are ordered fluids found, for some molecules, at intermediate temperatures between the crystal and liquid states. Although technologically important, these materials typically receive little attention in the undergraduate curriculum. Here, we describe a laboratory activity for introductory organic chemistry students on the synthesis and characterization of the "p"-alkoxybenzoic acids. These compounds, through the formation of carboxylic acid dimers, exhibit liquid crystal phases common in rod-like (calamitic) molecules. The students are assigned different alkoxy chain lengths and synthesize the compounds through microwave-assisted nucleophilic substitution. Characterization of the phase behavior is then carried out by standard melting point techniques, differential scanning calorimetry, or polarized optical microscopy. The results for the class are pooled to allow the students to consider structure-property effects for the series. This activity allows students to explore small-molecule synthesis applied to materials chemistry and concepts of self-assembly: the benzoic acids associate through hydrogen bonding, and the resulting rod-like dimers further organize into the liquid crystal phases. (Contains 3 figures and 1 scheme.)

The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) experiment, most often done in the undergraduate analytical instrumentation laboratory course, generally illustrates reversed-phase chromatography using a commercial C[subscript]18 silica column. To avoid the expense of periodic column replacement and introduce a choice of columns with different stationary phases, we have developed an experiment in which students prepare and test a polymer-based monolithic column. The 10 or 15 cm monolithic column is prepared using 1/8 in. o.d. x 2.3 mm i.d. poly(ether ether ketone) or PEEK tubing. The reaction is accomplished thermally at 60 degrees C for several hours by polymerization of butyl methacrylate cross-linked with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate in a porogen system consisting of 1,4-butanediol, 1-propanol, and water. Using toluene and naphthalene as analytes, profiles of retention factor as a function of methanol have been shown. A study of essential nutrients can be accomplished by using an ion-pairing reagent to separate thiamine from riboflavin. In addition, plate count and van Deemter plots can be done to determine column efficiency. The experiment can be designed to be completed over a 1 to 3 week period of time. Exposure to polymer chemistry, often not a part of the undergraduate laboratory curriculum, is an additional important aspect of this experiment. (Contains 4 figures.)

Faculty perspectives of the undergraduate chemistry laboratory were the focus of a study to articulate the goals, strategies, and assessments used in undergraduate teaching laboratories. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with faculty (N = 22) from community colleges, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive universities, and research institutions engaged in teaching or supervising undergraduate laboratories. The goals for general chemistry, organic chemistry, and upper-division laboratories are described and compared among faculty who have received NSF-CCLI (now called NSF-TUES) grants to implement changes in laboratory and those who have not. Problems and limitations to success in laboratory are also reported, and the impact of these obstacles on student achievement and laboratory curricula is discussed. (Contains 2 tables, 4 figures and 1 note.)

Liquid chromatography (LC) experiments for the undergraduate analytical laboratory course often illustrate the application of reversed-phase LC to solve a separation problem, but rarely compare LC retention mechanisms. In addition, a high-performance liquid chromatography instrument may be beyond what some small colleges can purchase. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges offer an inexpensive alternative, while still providing effective model columns for investigating LC retention mechanisms. We have shown that the four major retention mechanisms (normal-phase, reversed-phase, ion-exchange, and size-exclusion) can be investigated experimentally using two types of SPE cartridges (silica and C18) as columns. The C18 cartridges can be pre-treated with anionic or cationic polymers to produce ion-exchange columns. The concept of post-column detection is also introduced. This experiment is suitable for a first-year general chemistry course or a third-year analytical course to illustrate the importance of solvent polarity and the types of retention mechanisms employed in separation science. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)

A pre-service science and mathematics teacher participated in an action research project to reform a chemistry course required of elementary and middle childhood pre-service teachers. Activities to emphasize a hands-on approach to learning chemistry and to model teaching science through inquiry for these pre-service teachers are described. The value of a research experience for pre-service teachers, both upon their student teaching and as a classroom teacher, is discussed.

Many researchers have investigated the effects of students' prior knowledge upon learning chemistry, for example, the tenacity of alternative conceptions. Knowledge about learning also shapes students' learning of chemistry. This research describes the development of CHEMX, a survey instrument that measures an aspect of knowledge about learning known as cognitive expectations. Evidence for both the reliability and validity of CHEMX is presented. Data from undergraduate chemistry students is presented. Results include changes in expectations from first-year students to seniors, comparisons between majors and nonmajors, and a profile of faculty expectations in comparison to students' expectations. (Contains 2 tables, 3 figures and 1 note.)

With an increased focus on integrated upper-level laboratories, we present an experiment integrating concepts from inorganic, biological, and physical chemistry content areas. Students investigate the effects of ligand strength on the spectroscopic properties of the heme center in myoglobin using UV-vis, [superscript 1]H NMR, and EPR spectroscopies. This upper-level undergraduate laboratory is set in the context of understanding why meat is packaged under an atmosphere of CO and can be completed in two 3-4 h laboratory periods. (Contains 1 figure.)

Outlines a vision for a new kind of master's degree tailored to the needs and talents of high school chemistry teachers that provides for integration of both pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge (chemistry). The program provides for continual professional development by using action research in the high school classroom. Presents an annotated bibliography and early evaluation results. (Author/MM)

An innovative M. S. degree for high school chemistry teachers has been developed at Youngstown State University (Ohio) in the pursuit of implementing professional development standards based on the National Science Education Standards of the National Research Council. The degree provides for integration of pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge.

Students, staff, and faculty from Miami University partnered with Talawanda School District's public high school chemistry teachers to develop curricular materials for teaching X-ray crystallography and symmetry. Those curricular materials are described and evaluated in terms of effects on student learning.

An inquiry-based experiment on Sherlock Holmes adventure stories used to actively involve students in a series of laboratory experiments to prove the guilt of the accused murderer is presented. The result from such experiments showed that students were able to distinguish between sugar and possible poison.

The development of free user-friendly bioinformatics tools in a computer-based laboratory by the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the Biology Workbench is discussed. Sequences of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase from related barracuda (genus Sphyraena) were downloaded and compared in order to isolate mechanisms of evolutionary adaptation to differences in growth temperature